Windy City Harvest Corps

We are currently accepting applications for the Windy City Harvest Corps, a 14-week paid job training program. To apply in person please call (224) 269-0159 to schedule an appointment.

About the Program

The purpose of Windy City Harvest Corps is to employ previously incarcerated individuals, and veterans in closely mentored, full-time paid job training; to support them in finding full-time, long-term employment. We work closely with organizations such as Teamwork Englewood, A Safe Haven, Cara, Chicago Commons, Community Resource & Referral Center (CRRC), The Black United Fund, Westside Health Authority and many more as well as alumni referrals. Windy City Harvest Corps recruits and employs individuals full-time through funding provided by the Chicago Department of Family Support Services.

The program is comprised of three overlapping 14-week cohorts. Harvest Corps starts the growing season in March, and finishes up just in time to learn season extension in September. To ensure participants are receiving adequate training, all Harvest Corps participants receives an Individual Employment Plan (IEP) and work side-by-side with trained supervisors of Windy City Harvest. Daily work includes but is not limited to planting, harvesting and post-harvest handling, record keeping, composting, landscaping, construction and overall workplace safety. All skills training happens at one of 13 Windy City Harvest farm sites, Monday through Thursday. On Friday, participants are engaged in the classroom for the Roots of Success-Environmental Literacy Curriculum, employment search assistance, mock-interviews, and weekly documented feedback from a direct supervisor.

Graduates of Harvest Corps receive a certificate of completion from the Chicago Botanic Garden, Roots of Success, and a ServSafe Food Handler’s certificate. They have developed essential, diverse skills, and knowledge they will bring into multiple fields that include food service, horticulture, landscaping, warehousing, construction, and many more. Windy City Harvest Corps maintains close relationships with all of our employment partners.

Windy City Harvest Corps successes since 2010:

Successfully placed more than 100 participants into employment opportunities in related fields

36 graduates have continued on to a work study in preparation for the Windy City Harvest Apprenticeship nine-month Certificate Program

20 have successfully completed the Apprenticeship

After graduating, 14 have gained employment in the local food industries

How to Apply

Windy City Harvest Corps Application Process

Attend an interview: Applicants must sign up for an interview. Applicants must bring a rap sheet or DD214 and two references to the interview. References should be someone who will agree to support the applicant through the program, such as a case manager, after-care specialist, or mentor.

Attend an information session: to attend an information session please call Joan Hopkins at (224) 269-0159 and leave a detailed message, or email jhopkins@chicagobotanic.org for more information.

Attend a three-hour, unpaid work-shadow day: Work shadow days will be held on Thursdays, 9 a.m. to noon in the same week as the information session.

Attend orientation: Applicants chosen to join the program will be contacted to attend orientation after the approval of the ADP background check and rap sheet check.

All applicants must attend and successfully complete each step in the application process in order to be considered for the program.

Harvest Corps Member Qualifications

Be a U.S. military veteran or have a nonviolent criminal record with no history or sex offenses

A Chicago resident

Physically able to stand, walk, bend over, and carry more than 30 pounds for long periods of time

Information Sessions

Windy City Harvest hosts information sessions for the Harvest Corps' 14-week job training program every second Monday of the month, 9 a.m. to noon at the Arturo Velasquez Institute, Room 1102, 2800 S. Western Ave., Chicago.

If you or someone you know would like to become a Windy Harvest Corps member and meet the qualifications below, please contact Joan Hopkins for more information about events and informational sessions.

Program Components

Work Experience

Windy City Harvest Corps participants become experienced in a wide array of general transferable job skills as well as industry-specific skills. Below are many of the transferable skills Harvest Corps participants develop during their 14 weeks.

Basic construction

Being part of a team

Coaching and mentorship

Communication

Goal setting

Landscaping & tool utilization

Motivation

Personality development

Positive attitude

Post-harvest handling

Record keeping

Responsiveness

Time management

Workplace safety

Roots of Success

Roots of Success is an environmental literacy curriculum for adults who come from communities with high rates of poverty, unemployment, and environmental degradation. Its goal is to empower its graduates by giving them the knowledge, vocabulary, and resources to dive into the green economy and to improve their own communities. Participants learn about water conservation, sustainability, energy, nutrition, financial literacy, sustainable agriculture, municipal waste, social entrepreneurship, and much more. Windy City Harvest Corps uses the Roots of Success curriculum to supplement our jobs-training program by connecting work in urban agriculture to the larger world of environmental justice and green jobs. Students who complete the course receive a nationally recognized certificate that is valued by employers and educational institutions from Roots of Success.

Job Search Training & Professional/Personal Development

In addition to Roots of Success, Harvest Corps facilitates workshops for resume and cover letter writing, interviewing skills and mock interviews, professional correspondence, and personal presentation.

Windy City Harvest understands participants and alumni can learn from one another; alumni guest speakers come into the classroom to speak about their past, present, and future experience in their new positions. We also invite organizations that further enrich our programming and empower our participants. Community partners present on such topics as sealing and expunging criminal records, healthy eating, professionalism, and more.

Close Supervised Mentorship

Each Harvest Corps member works closely with Windy City Harvest staff and is designated a Crew Leader. Through mentorship, working side-by-side, and weekly feedback reviews, crew leaders and other Windy City Harvest staff offer individualized guidance and support to each Harvest Corps participant. Staff members go over strengths, areas of improvement, history, and professional goals with every participant before, during, and after their time in Harvest Corps. Windy City Harvest offers guidance and resources to both current and past participants. Participants graduating from Harvest Corps without employment are provided support in class on Friday for Job Club, where they have an opportunity to apply for employment and update their resume.

Work-Study Opportunity

If Harvest Corps graduates cultivate a passion for sustainable urban horticulture, Windy City Harvest offers a selective and merit-based opportunity to become enrolled in the Windy City Harvest Apprenticeship Program through a work-study program. Each year a select few are offered full scholarships to the Harvest Apprenticeship as well as 20-plus hours of paid work-study employment. To date, 20 Harvest Corps graduates have successfully participated in our work-study opportunity and have gone on to the Apprenticeship Program.